Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A method for threading e-mail messages, the method comprising: receiving an e-mail message; displaying unthreaded information about the e-mail message in a sortable portion of an e-mail user interface responsive to a determination that the e-mail message is unrelated to any other e-mail message in the mailbox; and associating the received e-mail message with one or more e-mail messages as an e-mail thread responsive to a determination that the e-mail message is related to the one or more e-mail messages, comprising: creating a thread header comprising information about the e-mail thread responsive to a determination that the e-mail thread comprises only the received e-mail message and a single related e-mail message; updating the thread header to include information derived from the attributes of contents of the received e-mail message; and displaying the thread header in a sortable portion of the e-mail user interface only if the e-mail thread comprises at least two e-mail messages.
A method for threading emails involves receiving a new email and checking if it relates to existing emails. If unrelated, the email's unthreaded info (sender, subject) is displayed in a sortable inbox list. If related to one or more emails, an email thread is created. If the thread consists of only the received email and one other email, a thread header is created containing thread information. This thread header is updated with information from the received email. The thread header is only displayed in the sortable inbox if the thread contains at least two emails.
2. A system for threading e-mail messages, comprising: a mailbox processor module for receiving e-mail messages; a mailbox, communicatively coupled to the mailbox processor module, for electronically storing e-mail messages; a threading engine, communicatively coupled to the mailbox processor module, adapted to: determine whether a received e-mail message is related to an existing thread of e-mail messages stored in the mailbox; display the received e-mail message unthreaded in an e-mail user interface if the e-mail message is unrelated to any other message in the mailbox; create an e-mail message thread and a thread header if the received e-mail message is related to a single e-mail message, the thread header comprising information about the e-mail thread; update the thread header to include information derived from the attributes of contents of the received e-mail message; and display the thread header in a sortable portion of the e-mail user interface only if the e-mail thread comprises at least two e-mail messages; wherein the mailbox processor module, the mailbox, and the threading engine operate on one or more processors.
An email threading system includes a mailbox processor for receiving emails, a mailbox for storing emails, and a threading engine. The threading engine determines if a received email relates to an existing thread. If unrelated, the email is displayed unthreaded in the email user interface. If related to a single email, an email thread and a thread header are created, containing thread information. The thread header is updated with information derived from the contents of the received email. The thread header is displayed in a sortable portion of the email user interface only if the email thread has at least two emails. These components operate on one or more processors.
3. A non-transitory machine readable medium on which are stored instructions, comprising instructions that when executed cause a machine to: receive an e-mail message; display unthreaded information about the email message in a sortable portion of an e-mail user interface responsive to a determination that the e-mail message is unrelated to any other e-mail message in a mailbox; associate the received e-mail message with one or more e-mail messages as an e-mail thread responsive to a determination that the e-mail message is related to the one or more e-mail messages, the instructions to associate comprising instructions that when executed cause the machine to: create a thread header responsive to a determination that the e-mail thread comprises only the received e-mail message and a single related e-mail message; update the thread header to include information derived from the attributes of contents of the received e-mail message; and display the thread header in a sortable portion of the e-mail user interface only if the e-mail thread comprises at least two members.
A non-transitory machine-readable medium stores instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to receive an email. If the email is unrelated to existing emails in the mailbox, its unthreaded information is displayed in a sortable inbox list. If the email is related to one or more emails, it's associated with them as an email thread. Creating the thread involves generating a thread header if the thread only contains the received email and one related email. The thread header is updated with information derived from the contents of the received email. The thread header is displayed in the sortable inbox list only if the thread has at least two emails.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the thread header displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes a subject of the e-mail thread.
The email threading method described in Claim 1 includes a subject line within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. The subject displayed corresponds to the subject of the overall email thread.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the thread header displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes an originator of the e-mail thread.
The email threading method described in Claim 1 includes an originator field within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. The originator displayed represents the original sender of the email thread.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the thread header displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes indicia of the number of messages in the thread.
The email threading method described in Claim 1 includes a message count within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. The message count indicates the total number of emails contained within the email thread.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the thread header displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes a time that the e-mail thread was most recently updated.
The email threading method described in Claim 1 includes a last updated timestamp within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. This timestamp reflects the most recent activity (new email) within the thread.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the displayed thread header contains information that is distinct from information displayed for individual e-mail messages.
The email threading method described in Claim 1 has a thread header that contains information different from that displayed for individual, unthreaded emails in the user interface. For example, a thread header might show a total number of messages, while a single email shows only information about that specific email.
9. The system of claim 2 wherein the thread header displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes a subject of the e-mail thread.
The email threading system described in Claim 2 includes a subject line within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. The subject displayed corresponds to the subject of the overall email thread.
10. The system of claim 2 wherein the thread header displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes an originator of the e-mail thread.
The email threading system described in Claim 2 includes an originator field within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. The originator displayed represents the original sender of the email thread.
11. The system of claim 2 wherein the thread header displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes indicia of the number of messages in the e-mail thread.
The email threading system described in Claim 2 includes a message count within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. The message count indicates the total number of emails contained within the email thread.
12. The system of claim 2 wherein the thread header displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes a time that the e-mail thread was most recently updated.
This system automatically organizes received email messages into conversations or "threads." It consists of a mailbox processor for receiving emails, a mailbox for storage, and a threading engine. The threading engine determines if a new email relates to any existing messages. If an email is unrelated, it's displayed individually in the user interface. If a new email is related to an existing single message, the system creates an email thread and generates a summary "thread header" for it. This thread header is updated with information derived from the attributes and contents of any new messages added to the thread. The system then displays this thread header in a sortable section of the email user interface, but only if the thread contains at least two email messages. A key feature of this displayed thread header is that it includes the timestamp indicating when the email thread was most recently updated. ERROR (embedding): Error: Failed to save embedding: Could not find the 'embedding' column of 'patent_claims' in the schema cache
13. The system of claim 2 , comprising a processor configured to display the thread header in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface.
The email threading system described in Claim 2 includes a processor specifically configured to display the thread header in the sortable portion of the email user interface.
14. The system of claim 2 wherein the displayed thread header contains information that is distinct from information displayed for individual e-mail messages.
The email threading system described in Claim 2 has a thread header that contains information different from that displayed for individual, unthreaded emails in the user interface. For example, a thread header might show a total number of messages, while a single email shows only information about that specific email.
15. The machine readable medium of claim 3 wherein the persistent thread header as displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes a subject of the e-mail thread.
The email threading non-transitory machine-readable medium described in Claim 3 includes a subject line within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. The subject displayed corresponds to the subject of the overall email thread.
16. The machine readable medium of claim 3 wherein the persistent thread header as displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes an originator of the e-mail thread.
The email threading non-transitory machine-readable medium described in Claim 3 includes an originator field within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. The originator displayed represents the original sender of the email thread.
17. The machine readable medium of claim 3 wherein the persistent thread header as displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes indicia of the number of messages in the thread.
The email threading non-transitory machine-readable medium described in Claim 3 includes a message count within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. The message count indicates the total number of emails contained within the email thread.
18. The machine readable medium of claim 3 wherein the persistent thread header as displayed in the sortable portion of the e-mail user interface includes a time that the e-mail thread was most recently updated.
The email threading non-transitory machine-readable medium described in Claim 3 includes a last updated timestamp within the thread header that is displayed in the sortable portion of the email user interface. This timestamp reflects the most recent activity (new email) within the thread.
19. The machine readable medium of claim 3 , wherein the displayed thread header contains information that is distinct from information displayed for individual e-mail messages.
The email threading non-transitory machine-readable medium described in Claim 3 has a thread header that contains information different from that displayed for individual, unthreaded emails in the user interface. For example, a thread header might show a total number of messages, while a single email shows only information about that specific email.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium on which is stored instructions for causing a computer system executing the instructions to perform actions comprising: creating a persistent thread header only if a received email message is related to at least one other email message not part of any email thread, the persistent thread header comprising information about the e-mail thread distinct from information displayed for individual e-mail messages; updating a previously-created persistent thread header to include information derived from the attributes of contents of the received email message if the received email message is related to at least one other email message that is part of an existing email thread associated with the previously-created persistent thread header.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for email threading. The instructions create a thread header only if a received email relates to at least one other email that is not part of an existing thread. This header includes information about the thread that is different from individual email information. If a received email relates to emails in an existing thread, the system updates the existing thread header to include information from the received email's content.
21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the actions further comprise: displaying the persistent thread header in a threaded email user interface in a sortable message list area of the threaded email user interface in place of the received email message and the at least one other email message; and expanding the persistent thread header in the message list area to display information about email messages in the email thread.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20 additionally dictates that the thread header is displayed in a sortable email list, replacing the individual emails in the thread. The thread header can then be expanded in the list to reveal information about the emails in the thread.
22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the action of displaying the persistent thread header comprises: displaying the persistent thread header in the message list area; and displaying information about the email thread in a content view area of the email user interface.
Within the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, displaying the thread header means showing it in the message list area. Additionally, information about the email thread is displayed in a separate content view area of the email user interface, likely upon selecting the thread header.
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September 23, 2014
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